In the first days of 2022, I look ahead with hope that “small o” will be the last letter of the Greek alphabet to go viral in the news. Unfortunately, at whatever letter the news ends, it won’t be due to the wisdom of our leaders.
I am vaccinated, boosted and to my knowledge never had Covid, yet it has thought me lessons. The main one is that the leaders of all nations are incapable of global thinking and multinational institutions lack any real power. For nearly two years, the chaos of uncoordinated, tribal decision-making and the vacuum of global leadership remain undisturbed. The second is that despite easy access to information, there is less leadership accountability today than in the pre-internet age. The noise of the crowd is too great for thoughtful voices to be heard. Preoccupation with less important topics and issues prevents journalists from seeing the bigger picture and challenging the decision-making of those in charge. The third lesson is that people in the free world are just as willing to accept the illogical restrictions their national and local leaders impose upon them as are their brethren living under autocracies. The fourth is that good science cannot offset bad leadership.
Without a doubt, the challenge of climate change is far greater than that of Covid. I no longer think that it can be stopped before it has done serious harm. Based on the past two years, despite phenomenal progress in science and technology the world is as incapable as ever of facing global challenges.
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